Do you love HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) workouts as much as I do but haven’t found a shoe that has an optimal fit while doing your circuit training? Then, this Nike Air Zoom SuperRep 2 review may be just what you’re looking for.
Nike saw a gap in the market with the original SuperRep. This is the second iteration, and they made additional improvements, enhancing an already quality shoe.
The SuperRep 2 is a lightweight, flexible, comfortable, and responsive shoe to help power you through your dynamic workouts.
Why You Will Like It
- Designed explicitly for HIIT workouts
- Tremendous stability for movements in all directions
- Design helps propel you in your movements
Why You May Not Like It
- Not designed for distance running
- It could feel narrow to some
Overview
If you’re not familiar with this family of shoes, then you may be thrown a bit by its modern look. You may see a chunky trainer, but don’t let those looks deceive you. This shoe was designed to do a job, and it does it well.
It’s lightweight and will keep you comfortable while rocking your fast-paced and dynamic workouts, doing all the lunges, burpees, mountain climbers, and jumps you can muster up. With the Nike Air Zoom cushioning technology and the slightly forward rock of the shoe design, landings will feel soft, and you will feel propelled as you power through your reps.
Let’s dive deeper into why this shoe is so effective for HIIT and other dynamic movement workouts.
Sole
The futuristic design is the first thing you notice when looking at this shoe.
The base of the shoe is wide, both at the heel and just in front of the toe box. The heel is comprised of a chunk of EVA shaped like a horseshoe and effectively reduces impact issues toward the rear of your foot and helps with pushback to the next movement.
The width at the forefoot is due to the Zoom Air cushioning, in the form of two side-by-side units that offer superior shock absorption and foot stability but also contribute to a springing effect that helps launch your foot into your next exercise movement.
There are also creases within these heel and forefoot cushions, and a gap between them to provide shoe flexibility when bending and offer additional stability.
Just beyond the air pods and right before the toe box, there is a “burpee break” to aid foot flexing when doing exercises like burpees, mountain climbers, push-ups, and planks.
The bottom of the shoe is cut with multi-directional lines to ensure superior traction on multiple surfaces when making lateral and front-to-back movements.
In addition, running from front to back along the middle of the shoe and above the base of it is a TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) Flyplate which provides stability, along with weight and energy distribution, and helps the foot roll through exercise movements.
There are also arcs on both sides of the sole where the air pods are, designed to support your foot when engaged in hard side-to-side cutting or movements.
The entire sole has a rocker shape from back to front, providing performance advantages for your forward movements, but if you haven’t worn a similar shoe in the past, it may feel strange initially. Just make sure you spend some time walking around in the shoes before your workout, and you will quickly get used to them by the time you need to do any squats or lunges!
Upper
The Nike Air Zoom SuperRep 2 upper is sheath-like in design and allows you to slide your foot in seamlessly. The ribbed mesh and neoprene materials offer a soft but stable feel for your foot and increased airflow, providing coolness and breathability. In addition, the ribbed mesh is stitched in tighter for the second iteration of the SuperRep, designed to keep your foot snug when making lateral exercise movements like side lunges or jumps.
The tongue is built into the shoe but is fully adjustable, and the lace eyelets are flat, ensuring that your foot can get set in comfortably without any pressure points impacting you during your workout.
The shoe’s forefoot was widened with this edition, providing more comfort for people with wider feet and allowing toes to spread normally.
The heel counter is high on the shoe. Since the fabric is one big piece that is wrapped and continuously flows around the shoe, including the heel, it, along with the padding inside the heel counter, offers additional stability and protection, particularly for your Achilles tendon.
Other Considerations
- Suitable for short-distance sprinting, in fact, you may feel like you’re being propelled over shorter distances, but they are not designed for long-distance running.
- Suitable for lightweight work (dumbbells and kettlebells), but might be suboptimal if more intense weight training is involved.
- The fit and feel may take some getting used to, so make sure you allow a breaking-in period.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this Nike Air Zoom SuperRep 2 review was ideal if your primary exercise routine involves HIIT workouts and other fast-paced exercises. This shoe will perform effortlessly as you move from lunge to squat to burpee and everything else in between due to its lightweight, supportive, and responsive design.
Nike spent a lot of time researching the dynamic movements involved in HIIT exercises and constructed a shoe that provides stability, traction, cushioning, and performance you are looking for to help you ace your workouts.